Paul Cornell (DC’s Action Comics and Batman and Robin), Scott Snyder (Vertigo’s American Vampire) and Doug Mahnke (artist for DC’s bestselling Green Lantern series) are among the early guests from the world of comics to be announced for Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2). They will appear at the new annual pop culture convention as Guests of Honor and will be joined by other comic creators and artists including Tony Moore, Mike Norton, and Jill Thompson. This announcement follows two other recent announcements about leading guests who will be appearing at C2E2. Convention officials note that there will be many more significant guest appearances announced in the coming weeks and months as the show approaches. The next C2E2, which had its debut in Chicago last year, will take place March 18 – 20, 2011 at the McCormick Place Convention Center.

“While the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo will include guests from all parts of the pop culture universe, we will never stray too far from our primary objective, which is to provide thousands of fans with the opportunity to meet the absolute best and most respected comic book talent,” notes Lance Fensterman, Vice President for ReedPOP and Show Manager for C2E2. “Comics are what we are all about and I am very grateful to these leading comic creators and artists for participating in our show. We are going to have a huge event in Chicago in March and these great guests are getting us off to a tremendous start!”

PAUL CORNELL: Paul Cornell is a writer of prose, comics and television, the only person to be Hugo Award nominated for all three. He writes Action Comics, Batman and Robin and Knight and Squire for DC Comics.

DOUG MAHNKE: Born in the Year of the Rabbit, Doug Mahnke embarked on a love affair with comics at the age of five, having received a pile of Spider-Man issues from a rugby-playing college student named Mike who lived in his basement. A consistent interest in the medium, coupled with some art skill, landed Doug a job of drawing comics for Dark Horse at the age of 24 (the date is known precisely, as it occurred just two weeks before he wed his lovely bride). His first gig was illustrating the moody detective story entitled Homicide, written by John Arcudi. The two went on to collaborate on Dark Horse’s The Mask and their creator-owned series Major Bummber, originally published by DC. Since then, Doug has worked on a variety of titles (including Superman: The Man of Steel, JLA, Batman, Team Zero, Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein, Black Adam: The Dark Age, Stormwarch: P.H.D. and currently Green Lantern) with such writers as Joe Kelly, Judd Winick, Chuck Dixon, Grant Morrison, Christos Gage, Ed Brubaker, and Geoff Johns. He resides in the Midwest with his wife and seven kids, one dog, and a bunny named Suzie.

TONY MOORE: Tony Moore is a cosmic cowboy and comic creator from a small Kentucky town, where he was raised on a steady diet of fried game, cathode rays, and funnybooks. Moore’s notable illustration work launching The Walking Dead was nominated for two Eisner Awards (2004: Best New Series, and 2005: Best Cover Artist), and The Walking Dead has since become cable’s highest-rated drama, airing on AMC. Moore went on to co-create the booze-fueled space western Fear Agent with Rick Remender at Dark Horse, and the creepy gonzo thriller The Exterminators with Simon Oliver at DC/Vertigo. His recent work includes wild runs on Marvel Comics’ Ghost Rider and Punisher. He spends his days shooting at things in the woods, and helping his wife chase their squealing baby daughter.

MIKE NORTON: Mike Norton has been working in comics for over 10 years now, gaining recognition for projects such as The Waiting Place and Jason and the Argobots. Since 2005, he has made a name for himself working on books like Queen and Country, Gravity, Runaways, All-New Atom, Green Arrow/Black Canary, Trinity, and Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam. He is currently the artist of DC’s Young Justice series.

SCOTT SNYDER: Scott Snyder is best known for his first collection of stories, Voodoo Heart (Dial Press). Stephen King picked two of the included stories—“Wreck” and “Dumpster Tuesday”—for the 2007 Best American Short Stories anthology shortlist. Snyder teaches writing at Columbia University, NYU and Sarah Lawrence College and is working on a novel called The Goodbye Suit, to be published by Dial in 2011. He lives in New York City. This is his first comic book series and his first NEW YORK TIMES bestselling book.

JILL THOMPSON: A multiple Eisner award winning comic book creator, Jill Thompson has been drawing comics for well over half her life and is proud to have collaborated with many of this industry’s great talents. She has garnered acclaim for her work on titles such as Classics Illustrated, Wonder Woman, Sandman, Finals, The Badger, Death: At Death’s Door, The Little Endless Storybook and Beasts of Burden. She is best known for creating and illustrating The Scary Godmother series of books which not only have been adapted for the stage, but for television as well. The Scary Godmother and The Revenge of Jimmy have enjoyed yearly places on The Cartoon Network’s Halloween holiday rotation. In 2008-2009 Harper Collins released Magic Trixie, Jill’s latest all ages series chronicling the tales of the little witch Magic Trixie, her cat Scratches and the pupils at the Spectral Park Monstersorri School. Jill loves being an ambassador of comics to libraries and schools across the country and often conducts workshops and participates as a guest speaker whenever her schedule allows. One day she will have a large art studio where she can conduct workshops…well, she will if that Lotto ticket comes through! When she’s not writing and illustrating comics, Jill enjoys painting landscapes and city scenes. She also enjoys creating all manner of things, cooking, sewing, knitting, gardening, studying languages, building things and riding her bike. She wishes she had learned how to ride a motorcycle when she had one! More information about Jill can be found at jillthompsonart.com.

Tickets for C2E2 may also be purchased at www.c2e2.com. Other information about the show, as well as news about ReedPOP, which also organizes New York Comic Con (NYCC) is available at Lance Fensterman’s blog, www.mediumatlarge.net.

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